Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 411, The Chief Executive of the Financial Services Department Makes a Grand Appearance!
VIP ward at the University of Tokyo Hospital.

The late winter sun shone through the blinds, casting fine beams of light on the clean floor. The smell of disinfectant mingled with the delicate fragrance of bouquets of flowers for visiting patients, filling the spacious single-occupancy ward.

Masayoshi Okada lay face down on the hospital bed, his bare upper body wrapped in thick bandages, stretching diagonally from below his right shoulder blade to his left waist. The wound wasn't fatal, but the intense pain and weakness from blood loss had left him pale and his lips cracked. The television was muted, the screen repeatedly playing news footage of the shocking daycare attack that had gripped the nation: the ghost on his Yamaha motorcycle crashing through the daycare gates, knocking a female teacher to the ground in a frenzy to take children hostage, and a blurry yet resolute figure of a policeman rushing towards the knife-wielding assailant, shielding a cowering toddler with his own body.

That figure was him.

The camera zooms in, focusing on his blood-stained police uniform and the face of the unharmed, crying child beneath him.

The headline is eye-catching: "The young lion of the Metropolitan Police Department risks his life to save a child!"

After the incident, Masayoshi Okada was immediately taken to the hospital by SAT. The University of Tokyo Hospital examined him and found that he was lucky. Although the knife had penetrated quite deeply into his flesh, it had not damaged his spine or bones. He only needed to rest for a few weeks.

After emergency treatment to stop the bleeding and bandages were applied, Minami arrived. She visited Okada Masayoshi and broadcast the interrogation of the "Ikebukuro Ghost Guest" live to him.

However, a short while later, Minami received a message indicating that she should go out and make a phone call.

Two minutes after Meibo left, there was a knock on the ward door, the knocker was steady and carried an unquestionable sense of authority.

The door opened.

Financial Services Agency Commissioner Masahiro Okada stood at the door.

He wore a perfectly pressed dark suit, his silver hair was neatly styled, and his face was as hard as if it had been carved by a knife. Several years had passed since the last time father and son met—the argument that erupted over a "supermarket cashier" and ultimately led to a complete break.

At this moment, there was no warmth of reunion on the father's face, only an almost rigid seriousness, and a trace of unfathomable complexity deep in his eyes. His appearance made the air in the ward freeze instantly.

Following behind was his wife, Kiyoko Okada. Her well-maintained face was etched with worry and exhaustion, her eyes red and swollen, her hands clutching an expensive box of pastries. Behind them were two Financial Services Agency secretaries, their expressions respectful, carrying luxurious fruit baskets and top-quality nutritional supplements; they stood silently by the door like precise instruments.

Masayoshi Okada did not turn his head.

He stared at the image of himself covered in blood on the television screen, his lips pressed into a pale line. The icy rift between father and son had not melted an inch because of this nationally sensational "heroic act," but rather had become even more awkward because of this forced visit.

What is he here for?
Was he here to mock me? Or... to take this opportunity to tell everyone that I am his son?
“Masayoshi.” Okada Masayoshi’s voice was low and steady, devoid of emotion, as if he were reading an official document. He stepped in, the sound of his leather shoes tapping on the floor being particularly clear in the quiet ward. His gaze swept over the bandage on his son’s back, lingering for half a second at the edge of the bleeding before moving away, finally landing on his son’s pale face with scrutiny and a hint of complexity.

"Jiangyi! Ah!" Okada Kiyoko immediately rushed to the bedside, her voice choked with sobs: "Jiangyi... my child... you have suffered..." She put down the snack box and wanted to reach out and stroke her son's hair, but under her husband's invisible pressure, her fingers curled up and withdrew, only looking at the glaring bandage with heartache.

“Mother.” Okada Masayoshi finally turned his head and managed a reassuring smile at his superior’s wife and his own mother. His voice was hoarse from pain and weakness. “I’m fine. It’s just a superficial injury. I’ll be fine soon.”

He deliberately avoided his father's gaze.

However, his father did not give him this chance. Okada Masaharu walked to the bedside and stood still.

He did not sit down, maintaining his superior posture. The secretary immediately and silently placed the fruit basket and tonics on the table beside him; the gold-embossed logos on the packaging indicated their high value and distinguished origin.

“The Superintendent General called me, along with Minami.” Okada Masaaki began, his tone businesslike, as if relaying instructions from a superior. “Minami gave a detailed report on your injuries. It’s fortunate that no nerves or bones were damaged.”

He paused, his gaze piercing his son, and he began to speak sternly without thinking: "But your behavior was too reckless!"

"The value of a professional team lies in their intellect and leadership, not in reckless courage! Putting oneself in such a dangerous situation is a serious waste of the country's training resources!"

These words were so cold and inhuman that Mrs. Kiyoko gasped, her eyes welling up with tears again. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but her husband stopped her with a look.

Masayoshi Okada closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the anger in his heart and the sharp pain in his back. He reopened his eyes, meeting his father's gaze. There was no anger in his eyes, only a deep weariness and an unyielding persistence: "Father, at that time, that guy was only ten centimeters away from that girl named Akina Kawabata's neck! I was the only person at the scene capable of stopping him! My duty was to stand between them and the danger! This has nothing to do with whether I am a professional inspector or a non-professional patrol officer."

Masayoshi Okada's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally resolute: "If I could do it all over again, I would still rush forward!"

Okada Masaharu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He looked into his son's eyes and saw the unwavering determination, the same stubbornness he himself had shown when he insisted on applying to the Metropolitan Police Department and marrying that commoner woman.

A faint, almost imperceptible hint of helplessness flashed across the face of the Financial Services Commissioner.

"Duty?" He scoffed, his gaze sweeping over the coconut milk that Manager Minami had bought for his son's favorite drink in the corner of the ward, then over the expensive supplements he had brought, before finally settling back on his son's face. He sneered, "Your 'sense of duty' is always used in the most incomprehensible places. For one..."

He seemed to be carefully choosing his words, ultimately selecting the most neutral, yet also the coldest: "Where's the cashier? Where was she when you were injured?"

The temperature in the ward plummeted.

Masayoshi Okada's face turned deathly pale. Miki...she's traveling in Europe, probably in Florence, Italy right now...she hasn't contacted me for the past two days; the last time she did was to ask him to send more money. She's on a shopping spree in Milan, the world's fashion capital, and she's running out of cash.

"Father!" Jiang Yi's voice suddenly rose, his emotions aggravating his wounds, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "She is the life partner I chose! As for those two children..."

He took a breath, his eyes sharp as knives. "The value of their lives cannot be measured by any standard! Protecting them is the meaning behind my wearing this police uniform! This will probably never align with your understanding of 'value'!"

"Jiangyi! Say less, you're still injured!" Madam Qingzi's voice trembled with anxiety as she looked at her son with almost pleading eyes, then helplessly glanced at her husband.

The father and son's gazes clashed fiercely in the air. On one side lay deep-seated class prejudice and a power-driven logic; on the other, a solitary courage to defend personal choices and professional beliefs. The rift between father and son, caused by the cold war that began with their marriage, showed no signs of weakening or repairing.

Okada Masahiro's face grew increasingly gloomy.

He looked at his son's face, paler with agitation and pain, and at the stubbornness in his eyes that he could never understand. On the television screen, a silent replay showed the slow-motion replay of him lunging at the assailant, shielding his child with his body, and being stabbed in the back—an action that carried a sacrificial resolve.

The Financial Services Commissioner's Adam's apple bobbed. As a father, he couldn't possibly remain indifferent to witnessing his son's tragic fate. As a Financial Services Commissioner known for his stern and ruthless nature, it was an undeniable fact that his son's actions had earned him immense political prestige and public favor.

Moreover, although he was a rebellious son and the two had a very bad relationship, he was still his only son!
This complex emotion surged within him, but ultimately it transformed into an even colder command: "Take good care of yourself. Don't let down the Metropolitan Police Department and the people."

The Financial Services Commissioner turned away from his son and instructed his secretary, "Leave the supplements here, contact the hospital, and use the best medicine to ensure his speedy recovery."

After saying that, he walked straight toward the door, his steps still steady and powerful, but his straight back revealed an indescribable stiffness and a hint of defeated and fleeing.

"My dear!" Mrs. Qingzi called out anxiously to her husband, then turned back to look at her son with heartache, caught in a dilemma.

"Mother, you should go back with Father." Jiang Yi lay back down on the pillow, his voice utterly exhausted, and closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

Mrs. Qingzi looked at her son's thick eyelashes beneath his tightly closed eyes, then at her husband's retreating figure as he disappeared through the door. She could only sigh deeply and hurry after him.

Jiang Rong would absolutely never allow that cashier to enter our home!

I'm sorry, Jiang Yi, but I feel the same way!
She gently placed the exquisite pastry box in the most conspicuous spot on her son's bedside table—his favorite Guishunzhai Sachima, made with real dog milk and honey.

The only sound in the ward was the low hum of the heater. Masayoshi Okada lay motionless. The wound on his back throbbed with pain from the excitement, and a patch of bright red spreading across the bandage resembled the unhealable wound in his heart. The praise from the people came like a tidal wave, but it could not warm the icy river between father and son, nor could it soothe the absence of his wife.

He suddenly felt incredibly lonely.

“Everyone in this world is lonely.” Masayoshi Okada smiled bitterly and buried his head in the pillow.

The bright, smiling face of his wife, Miki Okada, who was far away in Europe and looked just like Noriko Sakai, floated into his mind. He had indeed acted impulsively back then, and as a result, he had become the biggest stain and disgrace in his father's eyes.

At the same time, Masaharu Okada walked out of the ward with a chilling anger, his steps faster than when he arrived, as if he wanted to escape the suffocating atmosphere.

His wife, Mrs. Kiyoko, followed anxiously behind, while the two secretaries kept a professional distance.

Just as I turned the corner of the corridor, a golden couple walked towards me.

They are Watanabe Minami, the Special Missions Division Administrator, and Uesugi Muneyuki, the Special Missions Division Forensic Officer!

Behind them were all the members of the Special Missions Branch except for Ishihara Mikoto and Date Chomune!
Miss Minami immediately recognized this important figure who was frequently featured in financial news headlines. She stopped in her tracks, stood at attention, and gave Okada Masaaki a crisp and standard salute.

"Yes, sir!" Manager Minami's voice was steady and powerful.

Okada Masaaki also stopped in his tracks. The anger and stiffness on his face were instantly replaced by a deeper, more stern and authoritative demeanor befitting his status. He nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two of them with an almost tangible intensity, especially when he saw the Metropolitan Police Department badge and superintendent rank on Minami's uniform, at which point his eyes held a complex and indescribable expression.

He spoke slowly, his voice deep and steady, carrying an unquestionable aura of authority, but less cold and more solemn than when he was in the ward.

"You two have worked hard." His opening remarks were very formal, and his gaze first fell on the manager, "Manager Watanabe."

Then he turned to Uesugi Muneyuki, forcing a smile on his face.

"And also, the famous... Uesugi Forensic Examiner?"

(End of this chapter)